


One Loose String

by snaeken



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Choking, Good deed gone wrong, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Teddy Bears, The murder kind not the other kind, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-06-10 20:11:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15299133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snaeken/pseuds/snaeken
Summary: Liam discovers that Theo has a teddy bear.





	1. Chapter 1

Liam doesn’t go into Theo’s room. It’s just a matter of principle. The room had been empty forever, just extra space to store all the junk that somehow accumulates over the years. More than once Jenna and David had talked about emptying it out and doing it up, when they had wanted to try for a child together. However they couldn’t conceive and so the room remained disused.

And then Theo came along.

After saving each other’s lives too many times to count, after the Anuk-Ite, after discovering Theo was sleeping in his truck… Well, it just seemed obvious. Liam plead his case to his parents, even offering to empty the room himself if it meant Theo could move in with them. David and Jenna helped clear the room anyway and after some mild resistance from Theo, the spare room at the Dunbar-Geyer household officially became a bedroom.

Liam and Theo follow general bedroom etiquette with each other; no entering without knocking first, no entering at all when the other isn’t home, etc. Jenna gets to bypass the second rule since she washes their clothes and their bedsheets, but other than that everyone sticks to the rules.

Or they did, until Jenna asked Liam to put Theo’s ironing in his room.

It’s stupid, he’s been in the room dozens of times, both before Theo moved in and after. But this time Theo isn’t on the other side of the door, calling for him to come in before he’s even had the chance to knock. He’s out grocery shopping with David, probably due back in less than half an hour. He could always just leave Theo’s ironing at the door, that way he could put it away himself when he gets home. It would be rude to put everyone else’s away and just leave Theo’s out though.

It still feels like he’s doing something wrong when he turns the handle and goes inside.

He puts the pile of clothes on Theo’s bed and is ready to turn around and leave, so of course that’s when he spots something he hasn’t seen before in the room which is just too intriguing to leave alone.

At the top of Theo’s bed, nestled against the pillows, is a teddy bear. An actual, literal teddy bear.

Liam’s holding the bear before he even made the conscious decision to move. It’s soft in some places, the fur worn away in others, and one of its eyes is hanging loose. Liam inhales and it smells overwhelmingly of Theo, tinged with the sorrow that accompanies the boy everywhere. There’s something else mixed in with it, not happiness exactly, maybe something adjacent to that.

Comfort, Liam realises. It’s comfort.

Liam examines the bear again, the fact he’s never seen it before, that Theo must have been hiding it every time Liam knocked on his door. The fact Theo even feels the __need__  to hide it sets off something uncomfortable in his stomach. Sure, they laugh and joke and make fun of each other pretty much constantly but there are still boundaries, and Liam would never cross that line intentionally.

He presses a finger against the bear’s loose eye, watching as it precariously dangles from side to side. Liam smiles as an idea hits him. He doesn’t know how to sew, but Jenna does.

Liam tracks her heartbeat to the kitchen and follows her there, setting the bear down on the counter next to her.

“Mom, Theo has a teddy bear.”

“I know, honey.” Jenna gives him suspicious eyes, trying to work out his angle. “You’re not going to make fun of him for it, are you?”

“No!” Liam denies. Is that really the impression that he gives off? “Wait, you knew?”

“I’ve been in his room before, honey. Now what’s this about?”

Liam feels self-conscious suddenly, like he’s being stupid, like he should have just left the bear alone.

“I just thought that, uh. Its eye’s coming loose, so maybe?”

“You’re asking if I can fix its eye?” Jenna translates, a pleased smile spreading across her face.

“Yeah, mom. Can you fix it?”

“If Theo wants me to, then yes. Why don’t I keep it down here for now?”

Liam beams at her. “Awesome, thanks mom.”

 

Liam hears the car first, then the sounds of David’s and Theo’s voices as they chat to each other about… sports physiotherapy, apparently. Liam goes down to help empty the bags when they come inside, promptly going back up to his room once the job is done - he’s possibly been neglecting his biology homework. Again. In his defense, Ms Finch doesn’t exactly make the subject enjoyable to learn about.

He sits down at his desk, opens his textbook, and gets to work.

 

Liam’s bedroom door flies open and he jumps, already halfway to his feet in case of a potential threat. Theo grabs him by the throat and slams him against the wall, his eyes glowing yellow and rage emanating from him in waves.

“Where is it?” Theo demands. Liam’s so surprised that he can’t form words. Theo tightens his grip, claws puncturing Liam’s skin and it’s getting difficult to breathe. “I know you have it, I could smell you all over my room. Where is it? _Where is it?_ ” Theo’s shouting, flecks of spit flying from his mouth. Liam still can’t answer, the hand around his throat too tight, but Theo squeezes again all the same. “ _Where is it where is it where is it _-__ ” Theo shakes his body and shoves him harder.

Liam feels the drywall cracking behind him. He’s scared. He’s scared of Theo. Theo’s every move has always been calculated, deliberate, but he’s let his guard down around Liam. Now though, he’s completely lost control. Even when he literally committed murder, Theo has never looked as murderous as this. Just as the spots in his vision start to merge together, Jenna and David appear in the doorway, wide eyed and equally terrified.

“Theo, look at me,” Jenna says, voice shaking. David’s beside her with a hand on her shoulder. “I have your bear.”

Theo whips his head around and she recoils at his expression, but holds the bear out towards him.

“You need to let go of Liam, then you can have it back.”

Theo drops him instantly and Liam slumps to the ground, choking and wheezing and he tries to refill his lungs. Theo snatches the teddy bear from Jenna and bolts from the room. As David and Jenna crouch down to check on him, Liam’s still conscious enough to hear Theo’s truck start up and drive away.


	2. Chapter 2

Theo is stupid, so stupid. Freaking out like that was such a horrible mistake. He was trained better than that. Shame gnaws at his stomach, unfamiliar and unwanted. He could have killed Liam. He _wanted_  to kill Liam. He's never felt that way about Liam, not even when he first returned to Beacon Hills to take over the McCall pack. Then after everything the two of them have been through, after Liam convinced his parents to let him live with him instead of in his truck, this is how he repays them. There’s no way they’ll let him keep living with them now. Even if Liam forgives him, he highly doubts Jenna and David will.

Theo swings his feet idly, clutching the teddy bear to his chest. It’s a familiar presence, comforting. The thing is, he's actually considered trying to fix its eye himself. He just got so used to the way it looks now that he never bothered. It seems so stupid that he’s effectively ruined his life over something so trivial.

He looks down over the bridge at his reflection and he doesn't like what he sees. He doesn't see someone who's confident and in control. No, he sees that same scared little boy staring back at him like he did all those years ago.

His feet nearly brush the water as the bridge is so low. Looking at it now, it almost doesn't seem possible that this is the same place where Tara drowned. It just doesn't seem big enough, deep enough, frightening enough. But it is. He would know, considering he helped the Dread Doctors kill her.

 

***

 

Theo loves when their parents take he and Tara to the arcade. The lights and the sounds and the people and the games are all great. Tara doesn't always want to play against him but that's fine, there are other games he can play himself. The one with the basketballs is really fun. Especially when there's someone at the other one and he makes it a competition with them. He doesn't always win against the bigger kids because he's only seven, but he tries really hard.

He wants to play the air hockey game. People are at it just now but that gives him time to find Tara. He looks at the car games first, just to check them off the list since she doesn't like them. Then he goes to the coin machines but she's not there either. Then he sees her over at the claw machines.

"Tara," he says, shaking her arm. "Play air hockey with me."

She glares at him and puts more money in the claw machine. She directs it above a teddy bear then lets the claw go down. It brushes against the teddy bear's head and it looks like it might lift it up, but then the claw closes around empty air and goes back to its starting position.

Tara huffs, upset. "I don't have any more quarters. I couldn't win it."

"Oh," Theo says dumbly.

Tara flicks her hair in an imitation of the girls in teen dramas she's not supposed to watch. "I'm nearly ten, anyway. I'm too old for teddy bears."

Theo thrusts his hand into his pocket, gathering his change. He opens his palm and there's three quarters left. Air hockey costs two and a gumball costs one. He doesn't like it when Tara's sad though. He can get a gumball another time, maybe.

He puts a quarter in the machine and directs the claw but he doesn't win it either. It does exactly the same thing as before, almost grabbing it but not quite.

Two quarters left. Theo opens his palm again, conflicted. He really wants to play air hockey.

"You don't have to," Tara says quietly.

Theo shakes his head, determined, and puts another quarter in the machine. He sticks his tongue out slightly as he directs the claw again. He's going to win it for her.

The claw descends and lands on top of the teddy bear again. This time though, it catches the teddy bear's ear. Tara gasps as it starts lifting up. It looks like it's going to fall, swaying from side to side as it rises. The claw reaches the top and jolts, but still the bear stays in its grip. It goes back to its starting position and when the claw opens, the teddy bear falls down into the prize area.

"You won it!" Tara squeals. She flings her arms around him and hugs him tight, so tight. "You're the best brother ever!"

Tara releases him and takes the teddy bear out of the prize area, hugging it instead. "It's so soft, feel it," she tells Theo. He brushes it and sure enough, its fur is really soft.

"What's its name?" Theo asks.

Tara looks surprised for a second, like she hadn't considered getting this far. That's quickly replaced by her thinking face. She hmms loudly, scrutinising the teddy, then her face lights up.

"Gripper! Because the claw couldn't grip him!"

"Yeah!" Theo agrees excitedly.

"Come on, let's show mom and dad," Tara says, running off to find them.

Theo doesn't have enough quarters left to play air hockey, but he can still get a gumball.

 

***

 

Not even a year later, she was dead.

It’s funny how things can change so quickly, how a perfectly happy family could be so thoroughly and entirely torn apart.

He misses them. He misses her. He wishes he could have been as strong back then as he is now. Maybe he could have stopped it all from happening.

He hugs Gripper tighter, bringing his nose down to its head. He closes his eyes and inhales deeply, trying to trick himself into still smelling Tara on it.

 

Theo doesn’t know how long he sits like that for, but he’s brought out of his thoughts by a twig snapping nearby. He doesn’t turn around or make any attempt to move. He would know that scent anywhere.

“Liam.”


	3. Chapter 3

Liam doesn’t respond and Theo doesn’t turn around, leaving them at a strange sort of impasse. Liam has obviously searched Theo out to seal his fate and petty as it may be, Theo’s not going to make that any easier for him by starting up a conversation.

A gust of wind whips by, scattering the leaves around them. They rustle as they swirl about and collide with each other in the air and on the ground.

“Can I sit?” Liam says eventually. Theo nods, still not turning around, and Liam slowly approaches before sitting down next to Theo. He’s close enough that their arms are brushing. Liam’s hand is right there, so close yet so far away. It would be so easy to drop one of his own hands next to it, so it’s next to Liam’s own instead of clutching Gripper to his chest. Their hands could be touching. He could maybe even take Liam’s in his own. Theo doesn’t deserve that, though.

“Are you okay?” Theo asks, needing to break the awkward silence between them.

“I’m good. All healed up, see?” Liam sounds almost cheerful.

Theo doesn’t get it, how Liam can be acting so casual around a guy who nearly killed him earlier today. Theo looks at Liam properly, takes in the sight of his perfectly unblemished neck. He has to fight off the urge to lean in, to sniff and lick and bite. He doesn’t deserve any of that, either.

“How about you?” Liam asks tentatively. “Are you okay?”

Theo wants to laugh. Only Liam could nearly die and be worried about the emotional welfare of the guy who nearly killed him.

“I’m…” _fine_  is on the tip of his tongue, trying to force its way out. But it’s been getting harder and harder to lie to Liam, lately. Ever since this stupid crush came about, if he’s being honest. But as of late, his tongue has been turning to lead any time Liam asks him how he’s doing, trying to stop him from bottling up his bad thoughts. He’s so, so tired of lying. “I’m not okay,” Theo finally sighs, burying his face in Gripper’s fur again.

Out of the corner of his eye he sees Liam reach towards him, hand pausing hesitantly in mid-air like he’s afraid, like Theo’s a wild animal who might snap or bite without notice. He is, though. That’s exactly what he is. He’s already done it today, of course Liam’s afraid, even if he’s masking the chemosignal extremely well.

“Can I hug you?” Liam asks just as tentatively.

Yet another thing Theo wants but doesn’t deserve. But Theo’s selfish, and Liam offered, and Theo’s nodding against Gripper’s head and being wrapped up in Liam’s arms before he can force himself to say no.

“What happened back there, Theo?”

“Well…” Theo tells Liam about Gripper, about how he won it for Tara, about how Gripper’s the only possession from his former life that he still owns. By the time he’s finished, he’s somehow ended up lying down with his head in Liam’s lap, Gripper still clutched to his chest.

Honesty is exhausting, yet Theo’s tongue has never felt lighter.

“Wow,” Liam mutters, stroking Theo’s arm casually. “And I took it without asking.” He tilts Theo’s head up slightly by the chin. Theo stares up into those mesmerising blue eyes, remorse written all over Liam’s features. “I’m so, so sorry Theo. I never should have taken it from your room.”

“You didn’t know,” Theo says simply. “I’m sorry too, I shouldn’t have attacked you over it.”

“Thanks,” Liam smiles. “Are you ready to go home? Or do you want to stay here a bit longer?”

Theo sits up, needs to be eye level with Liam. “You mean I still have a home?” he asks, hating how weak, how hopeful his voice sounds.

“Fuck, Theo,” Liam breathes, pulling him into a hug again. “Of course you do. Of course you’ve got a home.”

Theo smiles against Liam’s chest, loosening an arm from around Gripper so he can wrap it around Liam instead. He might not deserve Liam’s kindness, but maybe he can allow himself to have it.

 

***

 

Theo’s stomach knots up the closer they get to home. He’s under no illusions that David and Jenna are more than likely still furious, or scared, or both.

Liam runs a hand up and down his thigh when he parks in the driveway. “It’ll be fine,” he smiles, and Theo wants to believe him.

David and Jenna are waiting in the living room when they go inside. They get to their feet and turn to Theo, crossing their arms. They might not be holding swords, but it sure feels like his fate is about to be sealed.

“That wasn’t okay, Theo,” Jenna says, voice stern. It’s amazing, she may just be human but Theo wants to shrink, to cower away.

“I’m sorry, it wo-”

Jenna holds a hand up, silencing him. “I’m not finished.” Theo nods. “That wasn’t okay, Theo. And it absolutely, categorically will not happen again. Do you understand?” Theo nods again. “You will pay for the repairs that need done to Liam’s wall.” He nods. “And you will heat up the food in the oven, and you and Liam will both sit at the table and eat it.” Theo furrows his eyebrows, looking between Jenna and David but nods anyway. “Good,” Jenna smiles, closing the distance and hugging Theo. “You stupid, stupid boy,” she mutters affectionately, giving him a squeeze.

Theo hugs her back then pulls away. “So I know I don’t deserve it, but can I ask you for a favour?”

“Only if you stop talking about yourself that way,” David interjects.

Theo nods and tries again. “Can I ask you for a favour?” Jenna nods and David smiles. Theo tries to remind himself that the worst thing that can happen is for them to say no. “Can you fix Gripper’s eye?”

Jenna’s face softens. “Of course, sweetie. Just leave it with me, I’ll get it done in no time for you.”

“Thank you.” Theo hands Gripper over, forcing down his protective instincts as he does so. He’s confident in the fact she won’t harm it, he has no reason to be worried.

 

He goes through to the kitchen to heat up dinner, only to find that Liam’s already through there and has turned the oven on.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Liam smiles knowingly.

Theo shoves him softly, not even moving him from the spot. “It could’ve gone worse, yeah.”

“So,” Liam’s heartbeat increases and Theo frowns. “Since we’re in the business of honesty and revelations today, I kind of want to kiss you. A lot. How do you feel about that?”

Theo stares at him, dumbfounded. He can’t possibly…?

“I’d like that. Also a lot,” Theo replies when Liam’s heartbeat ramps up even more.

Liam grins and closes the distance between them, and then his lips are on Theo’s and they’re both closing their eyes and Liam’s pushing him against the counter and it’s more than Theo could possibly have ever asked for.

 

They don’t stop until Jenna’s yelling from the doorway and there’s smoke coming from the oven.

 

***

 

Theo’s watching TV with Jenna, admiring Gripper’s fixed eye when Liam bounds into the room.

“Hey,” he says to them both, flopping down on the couch next to Theo and kissing him. Theo grins - he still can’t quite believe that’s a thing that happens now. It’s amazing how much can change in a week.

When Liam pulls away Theo cuddles up against him before he has a chance to get comfortable. With Gripper on one side and Liam on the other, life is good.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted Theo cuddling a teddy bear, I'm still not really sure how all the angst happened. But thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated.


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